by Shayn Bloom
“Your roommate sounds amusing if not intuitive,” Gabriel remarks. “I should like to meet her. That is,” he adds slyly, looking down at me, “if she can quell the impulse to introduce me to a guy.”
“We’ll see,” I respond, incensed. He can’t get everything he wants – it sets a bad precedent. Looking around the clearing, I try and distract myself. “Will your safety spells keep the vampires away?”
With difficulty, Gabriel heaves the smile off his face. “Yes,” he answers, “because they can’t see or find us. Our position has been ‘unmarked’ as we say – meaning all landmarks that may lead them here are void. A useful charm,” he says as an afterthought, “especially when hunting vampires.”
“Your favorite pastime,” I say nastily, trying to rile him up.
“Undeniably,” he agrees.
“When are you going to kill Amoretta?” I’m trying to say something that will push his buttons. “Before or after she has her way with me? Are you going to kill her at all? Maybe you want to sit back and watch!”
“Enough, Nora,” Gabriel says, turquoise eyes disapproving. “I understand. You’re mad with me for risking your life with the Newborn. I’m sorry – my misjudgment. Will you let it go?”
Startled by his apology, I nod. Too quickly. “Of course,” I say, reddening. Geez, I’m so glad it’s dark out, I’m turning into a tomato. “You’re forgiven,” I say, trying to catch my cool again.
You never had it to begin with chimes my alter ego.
Die, you! I tell her.
“I keep saying it and I’m going to keep saying it,” Gabriel tells me. “You’re safe with me. The safest place you can be in the world is wherever I happen to be. No one can hurt you so long as I’m here. I promise.”
Reaching up, I touch his face. The skin of his cheek is warm and inviting, cascading down from turquoise eyes and messy blond hair. Instinctively, Gabriel swipes his hair to the side of his forehead. Blushes. It’s a tinge, nothing tomato worthy, but it’s there all the same. Makes me feel wonderful.
“You’re red,” I tell him.
He averts his eyes to the fire. “I’m not.”
“You are,” I correct. “That’s okay. Bet you can’t see from that angle but I’m blushing too.”
“I can see, actually.”
The next thing I know his lips are soaking into mine. I didn’t notice his hand winding around the back of my head. Now it’s there, holding me, brushing me with his thumb as he fills me with bliss. Delicious, wet bliss. And it’s a real kiss. With tongue. I feel the world fall away around me.
It’s over and we’re apart.
He grins down at me, flushing brilliantly. “See,” he says, “not gay!”
“See,” I say, reaching up to his cheek, “bright red!”
He bats my hand away, blushing still further. “Easy does it. Don’t make me curse you,” he threatens, grinning down. “There are spells I’ve been wanting to try out but the right person never came along. Now I have –”
“What kind of spells?” I ask, interrupting him as I pick myself up and scoot back to my end of the couch.
“Oh – you know,” Gabriel says deviously. “Spells to enhance certain areas during certain activities. The possibilities are endless, Nora.” He’s gazing over my body as he twirls his wand expertly. “Endless…”
I shudder. But it’s a shudder of delight.
“Dinnertime!” Gabriel announces randomly, twirling his wand still faster. “What would you like?”
Startled, I say, “What – anything?”
“Basically,” he answers, hitching back his self satisfied smile. “I’m best at conjuring Italian, Chinese, and Mexican. So pick one of those if you don’t want it to taste like charcoal.”
I’m thinking when my stomach interrupts. “I’m not hungry.”
“What?” His voice is astonished. “I’ve been with you for hours and hours! You haven’t eaten. You have to be hungry!”
I shrug. “I’m not, Gabriel. Take it or leave it.”
“You must eat, Nora,” is the short reply. His tone is sharp. “I have no patience for people who won’t eat. It’s a bad joke that in places of plenty people still go hungry. It’s a disgrace is what it is!”
I play with my hair absentmindedly. Does anybody listen anymore? “It’s not like that,” I explain to him. “I’m just not hungry, Gabriel. It’s not that I’m anorexic or bulimic or whatever. I’m just not hungry!”
Turquoise eyes are calculating as they watch me. “Fine, then,” he says, annoyed. “But I am hungry. Feel free to sit there and watch me eat. Maybe then you will want something to chew on.”
“Maybe,” I say hospitably. I doubt it.
Spinning his wand artfully, Gabriel says, “Cuisiarti parmigiana!” A full plate appears on his lap. “Eggplant parmesan!” he explains happily, setting his wand on the arm of the couch and raising a fork and knife. “One of my favorite dishes! Too bad you don’t want any,” he tells me sourly.
Though I’m enjoying his gentle bating, Gabriel doesn’t get it. I physically can’t eat. Delicious as it looks, I know if I take one bite of eggplant parmesan I will throw up. My body can’t take that kind of food anymore. I say nothing in hope that the subject will pass. It does, thankfully.
“You never told me what class you’re taking.”
Gabriel gulps down a mouthful. “My bad,” he says, then continues eating. I stare at him as he chews. Is that all he’s going to say? How about an actual fucking answer? I can feel my blood temperature rising. Geez, I fly into tantrums so easily these days. Maybe it’s because I’m in –
“To be honest,” he begins, “I’m not taking a class.”
I gasp, “What!”
“I was,” he explains hastily, “when I first arrived on campus. I realized I didn’t want to do the work. My sole reason for being here is to search for the Newborn. But I also have to blend in with you Immags. The idea was I’d become a student and take a class while spending most of my time hunting vampires. Now I’ve dropped the class, I can spend all my time hunting the Newborn!”
“You slacker,” I tell him mockingly. “First one class. Then none. I know somebody else who’s only taking one class. You’re even lazier than he is because at least he hasn’t dropped out.”
“Who’s that?”
“My friend Wolf,” I say without thinking.
Gabriel’s expression hardens. “His name is Wolf?”
Oh fucking shitballs!
How could I be so stupid? Did I give him away?
“It’s Wolfgang,” I correct, trying desperately to repair the damage. “His mother thought it would be funny because it’s such an odd name. How do you like your eggplant parmesan?” I’m trying to distract him.
Gabriel isn’t listening. “His name is Wolf,” he repeats, more to himself than to me. “His mother named him so because she thought it would be funny. He goes to Evergreen State College but is only taking one class. He lives on the Olympic Peninsula… interesting, Nora – very interesting.”
My blood is freezing in my veins. This is bad news.
“I’d like to meet your friend Wolf,” Gabriel tells me, the turquoise of his eyes deadly. “Would you mind?”
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What do I say?
“No,” I lie through my teeth, “I wouldn’t mind.”
“Excellent!” Gabriel says, looking satisfied. He finishes his dinner without another word on the subject.
I feel depressed. How could I have done that? How could I have been so stupid? The words tumbled out of me so carelessly. So thoughtlessly. Now there’s going to be trouble, for how can a wizard and a wolf get along? What was it Wolf said he would do if he met a wizard? “Kill it.”
“This Wolf fellow,” Gabriel starts.
Fuck! Not again!
A loud screech sounds nearby and Merri comes soaring into the clearing with a dead mouse in her beak. Landing on the back of the couch, she proceeds to gobble up her dinner. Geez, if I didn’t have an
appetite before I definitely don’t have one now! I pat her feathers when she finishes.
“You’re all full, aren’t you?” Gabriel says adoringly to the owl. “Full of yummy mouse! How was your hunt?” She hoots.
“You said she doesn’t like to hunt at night,” I say in confusion, petting Merri’s glossy white plumage.
He swipes his blond hair to the side of his forehead. “If you get hungry enough,” he begins tersely, “the idea of breaking habits becomes more appealing. You wouldn’t understand.” His gaze falls over my thin stomach.
Geez, why can’t he let it go?
Amber eyes are staring at me. Is Merrifeather judging me, too? Probably.
I yawn, stretching my arms wide. It’s been an exhausting day. Hard to believe it started with a hangover from The Mousetrap – was filled with class and more drinking – and ended with me in the woods being tormented by a painted, lesbian vampire. Who says you have to go far to find adventure?
“It’s time we sleep,” Gabriel says. Getting up, he sits on the arm of the couch, gesturing for me to stretch out. “All yours. You won’t sleep curled up like that and you won’t thank me tomorrow if you do.”
“What about you? Where will you sleep?”
Gabriel winks over at me. “I’m not going to sleep yet. I may take a look around – see what’s in the area,” he remarks suggestively, his gaze eating the tree line around our clearing. “I’m fairly certain Amoretta is far away by now. But I may be able to find some clues so I can track –”
“Wait!” I say loudly, comprehending his words. “You’re leaving me here? Alone?” I can hardly keep the anguish from my voice. I only recently settled on the idea I’m safe so long as he’s around. Now he’s leaving! “I can’t believe you!” I storm at him, sitting up. “You just said –!”
“Nora!” Gabriel interrupts. “Listen to me! You are safe here. So long as you stay in this clearing nothing can attack! That’s why I performed those safety spells. This clearing is unmarked, remember?”
I’m breathing hard. I forgot, actually.
“Oh,” I say lamely, my heart rate returning to normal. “Oh, right – I still want you to stay with me, just in case,” I add wildly, gesturing around the clearing, “in case they find a way to get in.”
He scowls at me. “That’s why Merri’s here. She’s staying,” he insists. “She’s taking first watch.”
I scowl back. He’s right and I’m wrong, it seems. Looks like I’m safe. How come I can’t explain my now irrational desire to have him here for protection? Seems like the magic should be enough. Am I that helpless?
“How am I supposed to sleep now?” I ask him. “I was tired but now I’m all riled up. Thanks a lot!”
Gabriel’s not concerned. “You will calm down.”
“That’s not an answer!” I retort. “So I’ll give you one. I’m coming with you!”
A fire to hunt vampires is in my veins. I had been a pacifist before a vampire attempted to rape and kill me.
“You can’t be serious,” Gabriel says in exasperation. “First you tell me you’re frightened and you want me to stay with you. Then I tell you it’s safe here because of my spells. Now you say you’d rather come with me to face possible danger! I can’t begin to understand you, Nora Saynt-Rae!”
“You also said,” I begin haughtily, “the safest place in the world for me is at your side. So there!” Geez, that sounded childish.
Yeah, it did, my alter ego agrees. Where’s your lollipop?
Silence! I roar at her.
“You’re staying with Merri,” Gabriel says, finality to his voice. “You’re getting sleep. There’s real danger out there, Nora. We could run into a vampire coven out hunting. There’s no telling in these woodlands, in this part of the country,” he adds darkly, his face illuminated in the licking flames.
I’m too exhausted to argue more. I do have class tomorrow. Homework I haven’t done. Still haven’t read Sordello…
“Fine then,” I tell Gabriel. “If you’re going to be a jerk about it I’ll stay.” But I can’t keep the grin off my face as I say this, which subsequently ruins the terse effect I planned. “Go off and hunt without me. Never mind the fact I’ll be here getting eaten! Look,” I remark, gesturing to the rounded stone grate, “the vampires have a fireplace to cook me on right here. How convenient!”
Gabriel is staring me down. “That’s not funny. Not funny at all. For your information, vampires don’t cook their meat. They like it raw and runny,” he says slowly, his eyes flashing. Is he trying to freak me out? “So stay here, Nora. Stay where you are safe! Promise you will stay put?”
“What am I, a child?”
“Promise you will,” he repeats.
I roll my eyes. “Fine, I will.”
“Promise!”
“Alright, alright,” I say, raising my hands. “I promise!”
Geez, he needs to get a grip.
Gabriel sighs and stares into the fire. “Go to sleep. Merri will be keeping guard. Stay awake, Merri,” he instructs his owl, patting her plumed feathers. “Keep Nora safe for me while I’m away. She may need you.”
“She doesn’t need to stay awake for me,” I tell him. “She must be tired after her hunt. Let her sleep.”
Gabriel shakes his head. “Merri’s fine. She slept all morning. It’s nothing for an owl to stay up at night. They sleep during the day, remember? They must have taught you in school. I can never imagine what they spend all those years teaching you Immags when you’re not learning magic.”
“You’re rubbing it in, aren’t you?”
Turquoise eyes are alight. “Not at all. I’m curious.”
“Well,” I begin, “In first and second grade we –”
“That,” Gabriel interrupts grandly, “is a subject for another time. Now you must sleep. Merrifeather must guard. I must hunt. We can talk about how wizard and Immag syllabi differ later.”
Merri hoots gently at the fire.
Stretching with a yawn, I lay down on the couch as Gabriel stands, his wand twirling in his hand. Plumping a pillow, I lay my head on it softly. I can’t help but feel my wizard friend is waiting for something. I get a suspicion. “Are you waiting for me to go to sleep so you can curse me?”
“Never!” he exclaims, looking injured. “You think I’m cowardly?”
I say, “I didn’t say that.”
Gabriel narrows his eyes as he gazes at me. Nearly prostrate before him. “You basically did,” he says, “but I can’t think about that now. I must go. Promise again you won’t leave until I return.”
Sighing, I look up at him. “You must think I’m a complete idio –”
“Promise!” he exclaims.
“I promise!” I’m rolling my eyes.
Geez, is he always like this at night?
“Good,” he says. “Merri is here. The charms are in place. Go to sleep.”
Curling up against my pillow, I stare up at him while twisting my hair around my finger. “I need one more thing before you go.”
He looks wary. “What?”
“Can’t you guess?”
Hardly missing a beat, Gabriel leans down and kisses me on the lips. Once, swiftly. He’s gone, running off through the trees. Now I’m all alone. All alone in this clearing except for Merrifeather. I stare at her. Her head swivels in all directions, her enormous amber eyes missing nothing.
Readjusting to get comfortable, I gaze into the fireplace. I wonder how long the fire will burn. It’s already outlived any fire I’ve ever known. It’s probably never-ending. Maybe Gabriel has to cast it out with his wand.
My body weary, my thoughts go on for a time until they grow weary as well. My eyelids droop first. Then my consciousness, cascading down a flight of stairs until it no longer sees the world. Everything feels fake – manufactured like Gabriel’s fire in the night. It’s wonderful, too. So wonderful…
* * *
White abounds in every direction. I feel as though I can see for miles despite
the tree fringe obscuring my view. I blink against the whiteness. It’s almost blinding but not quite. I can see. I’m glad I can. So glad.
Gabriel and I are lying next to each other on a bed of white linens. No covers or comforters – simple sheets. We are between the layers. Naked. At least I am. I can’t see all of him from this angle, but I can see enough.
Turquoise eyes burn in contrast to the white while blond hair is messy atop his head. We’re facing each other. His skin is so… so smooth to my eyes. How about my fingers? Slowly, so slowly, I reach out a hand and caress his face. The flesh is warm beneath my touch. So smooth. So warm.
Moist lips open, but I brush my thumb across them, silencing him. My ears must rest while my touch is so alive. Cascading skin flows down a muscular neck into a chest of marble. I’ve never seen Gabriel shirtless before. Now he’s before me, half naked at least and ready for my caress.
Gingerly, I slide fingers down his cheek to his neck, feeling electricity pop between us. It’s wonderfully sensual to my consciousness. I see he wants to speak, but his lips remain still. Have I silenced him permanently? Maybe I am magical, too? Oh the wicked things I would do…
My touch travels his midriff, playing his button a moment before sliding up his side and curling around his left nipple. My thumb strokes him there. Turquoise eyes are upon me, seeming robotic.
“Have you a secret to tell me?” I ask.
A long moment. “Nora Saynt,” his lips say at last, “or are you Nora Rae? Who are you? To whom do you belong?”
I stare at him. The turquoise of his gaze is unmoving. “Oh, Gabriel,” I tell him, swooping in for a kiss, “you must know I belong to you! Take me as your witch, won’t you? Take me to Magasant! I want to learn magic! You must, Gabriel! This Immag world is wrong for me!”
“You,” Gabriel murmurs.
“What?”
Turquoise eyes close. “You…”
“What?” I repeat.
He smiles against his pillow. “You’re the one with the secret…”
Panic explodes. “I don’t understand!”
“Never tell it to me,” Gabriel says, opening his eyes. “Your secret. If you do, we can never be together. Understand?”
